


fires, fries, and other things that start with f

by sorryminibab



Category: Just Roll With It (Podcast)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24329536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorryminibab/pseuds/sorryminibab
Summary: i'm learning that all of my titles involve wordplay.i give full credit to velri on the discord for coming up with the McDonalds AU idea!   i started this out a month ago but just got around to finishing it. considering my last thing was super sad, this is what i've done with myself. i might do more shenanigan chapters later, if i have time.
Relationships: Br’aad Vengolor & Sylnan Vengolor, Former Oriana/Taxi (Just Roll With It)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 66





	1. so this is where it all began

When Sylnan, broke and hungry, decided to work at McDonalds at age 15, he did not, for any reason, expect to be working there six years later.

He didn’t expect his brother, after a year of high school abroad, to not only come back with the weirdest dick tattoo he had ever seen, but decide to work at McDonalds with him, and bring two of his now close friends along.

The first was a lanky ginger named Taxi with two tufts of hair that:

1\. Looked ear like

2\. Refused to ever go down, despite surprising amounts of hair spray (Sylnan’s idea) and fryer grease (Br’aads, if you couldn’t tell)

He used to work at Chick-Fil-A, and was nice, but terrified of the grill, he would hear the thing hiss and refuse to go within twelve feet of it. So they put him on drive-through service. It goes well most of the time, unless someone yells at him, then whoever’s closest steps in while he has a nervous breakdown. Mountain isn’t allowed to do that anytime soon though, after threatening to fight someone who called him and Taxi Pussies. They all had to collectively hold him from scrambling through the window. Which was hard, because he could fit through the tiny glass frame.

The second, was a tall female named Velrisa, with this purple hair that looked almost black.

They all learned this after Br’aad got bored and started shining a light around the front room using some glass that he found god knows where, then he saw her hair change colors. Being the first (and only) church girl Br’aad knew, he figured this was against whatever bible she read from. But apparently it’s natural and fine with Wee Jas, so nobody questions it.

She isn’t bad with the cooking, but she’s also the nicest person they have. So she’s on register duty most days. Her and Sylnan being the only ones who can handle being nice to people without snapping.

Then, there was Mountain.

Mountain was hired about a month or two before Br’aad came back, to be one of the fry cooks. He was hot headed, which they all learned fast, but he was nice when he wanted to be, gave out surprisingly good advice, and could make five perfect burgers at once somehow, so Sylnan gave him the job.

They all somehow became fast friends, and got used to each other's small quirks and problems. Plus the people that showed up to see them. Among the groups personal favorites (in no particular order) are:

-Taxi’s ex’s or past "companions". Specifically Oriana and Olgardt. None of them, including Taxi, have any clue what those two’s relationship is (everyone but Vel is guessing Sugar Daddy, it's the worst and funniest option). And there’s that one guy that none of them know, but once he sees him, Taxi always runs to the Janitor’s closet and refuses to leave or explain anything.

-Vel’s Uncle/Foster Parent Ander. Really nice guy, always manages to embarrass Vel in the most dad ways possible. Would scare the shit out of everyone if they didn't know him already. He runs the local church, which some of them will never be allowed to set foot in again.

-Katherine! Br’aad and Sylnan are especially excited to see her whenever she shows up from her job at Burger King. She’s also almost always got Ugarth with her, which is an added bonus. Which is always a fun time, hence the annual Mountain vs. Ugarth burger flipping contest.

-Cedric. Nobody knows much about him, but he’s stupid hot, which kills Br’aad just about every time he sees the man. He works at some Pirate themed restaurant and nine times out of ten he comes in in captains garb. The no shirt service policy is somehow overlooked.

-Jacquot. Works at the health foods store downtown, and only comes once in a while when he’s tired of “Rabbit food.” as Mountain would say. They can’t say they all like him, but he leaves a good tip and is friends with Sylnan and Taxi, so they let him slide.

-Quinn. This dude with skeleton tattoos just about everywhere who they all swear either doesn’t exist or sells drugs. He once offered Vel something that would make her fly, so they tend to just take his orders and skip the conversations unless they need something “extra special”. 

-Annnnd, Hilltree! Though at this point, he’s less a visitor and more of a staff member. He’s this little kid who comes into the kitchen just about every day and just sort of hangs around. Sylnan was the only one of them here when he started showing up, hence him being Hilltree’s favorite and designated older sibling. They give him food all the time, though they almost had to kick him out when Vel caught him stealing the Happy Meal toys.

There are stories that could be told of this legendary McDonalds. The Ice cream escapades, the grease fires, the rat funerals (rip ya boy Tibsy), and many, many more. But not many stack up to Sylnan's second favorite.

Before Taxi came to work at their McDonalds, he used to work at chick-fil-a, which is famous for their amazing customer service and hatred of queer people (one of which taxi posesses).

So one day he’s putting in an order of 20pc McNuggets with extra barbecue sauce, ranch, and a couple Apple pies. As usual, Mountain packages the order, it's passed to him, they pay, and it’s handed off. Easy.

But it was however, not easy.

After handing them the food, they drove off, as normal people do. But Taxi with his absolute unit of a passive perception, noticed that mountain hadn’t given them any extra sauce, but in fact, had given them the average amount of sauce. This is an issue, they asked for extra sauce, there was no extra sauce in the bag, this is not right.

So, what’s a person to do?

“Mountain! You forgot the fucKING SAUCE!”

And to the fright and shock of every being present, vault out the small, Mountain sized window, run down the driveway, and catch up to a moving car, which requires ungodly amounts of speed. Then run back, vault through the window again, land STANDING UP, and proceed to pick up the headset like nothing happened and take the next order without so much as a tired exhale.

Everyone is dumbfounded, obviously. Br’aad is in laughing hysterics, and Taxi eventually explains that he took gymnastics as a kid, and was on the track team in middle and high school. (this was bullshit, he’s been on the gymnastics team his entire life, but doesn’t exactly think its the best idea to tell everyone just yet).

This is one of many stories spun of shitty hash-browns in a rundown McDonalds. One that's filled with a huge amount of smoke from, and somehow, much more friendship. 


	2. why br'aad isn't a fry cook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Br'aad isn't a fry cook anymore, but why is the question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i started this as a joke and thought it would be funny to write. but then I started writing.  
> and here we are, have fun!
> 
> also thanks to everyone who left a reads these, its a huge confidence booster for my writing

Much before Sylnan realized that it was a bad idea, Br’aad was a fry cook. How could he have said no? Him and his stupid stupid green doe eyes and innocent smile. That damned smile would ruin so many things for so, so many people. 

Br’aad had control over the one section of the kitchen that wasn’t insanely flammable, but let him have enough leeway to not get bored instantly. Which just so happens to be the grease frier. He can throw fries, chicken nuggets, and whatever other shit he finds around when he gets bored straight into the boiling golden oil. So far he’s tried apple slices, ice cream, milk (which ended about as well as you’d expect), ball pit balls, ice, and paper . And as long as he kept orders coming out hot and his body out of the way of Mountain’s spatula, he was generally fine. 

One day a small rat crawled into the kitchen, presumably from a small crawl space in the wall. The only completely calm and rational person was at the register, dealing with a particularly angry customer. So it was just the guys at the back, and this rat encounter could have gone anyway possible. 

Mountain obviously wanted to kill it, there was no real reason to keep it living, and the health code violation isn’t really worth it. Besides, it was just a rat, there wasn't any real harm done. Taxi however, argued that it didn’t really need to die. That they could just pick it up with a small ten piece mcnugget carton and release it back into the outside world. 

Sylnan then raises the question of are there more rats? This could be a legitimate health issue and they might need an exterminator, or this could just be a one time thing. His McDonalds had a solid B rating by the Health Inspectors, and he doesn’t really know what comes after that, but he just assumes it isn’t any good. 

It becomes a small debate floor in the tiny fry kitchen. Sylnan, Taxi, and Mountain. 

Br’aad however, stays quiet. 

He just listens this time, which is unusual for him. But they make some good points. His personal favorite being from Mountain about how they should kill the rat and leave out it’s dead body to “set an example” as if the rats had an acknowledged fear of humans, or, you know, emotions. 

This whole time in fact, he’s been holding a single fry. He took it out a while ago, around the time they started yelling, so nobody noticed. He’s been lowering his hand oh so slowly down to the ground for the past thirty seconds, making sure they aren’t watching and then moving down a little bit more. Inch by Inch. Eventually, Br’aad gets impatient. Because he always does, and he just drops the fry on the ground in front of the rat. 

What’s weird, even for him, is what the rat does with it. 

The rat didn’t eat it, like he expected. The rat just picked it up. It grabbed the small potato morsel and ran towards the left vent, banged its head against it three times, and walked out the door to the “employee break room” (just the door to the parking lot, but legally they needed something that at least said it). 

Nobody else notices until they all look back at Br’aad, who looks like he’s staring into space confused. On top of that the entire area is missing a rat, so they all just decide to let it be and go back to their duties. 

The rat does come back though. 

It starts once a week. Then twice. Then three times. Suddenly every time Br’aad had a shift the rat would skitter into the room and sit near his station expectantly, not leaving until he dropped a fry for it. Once he did it would bang it’s head on the vent and run out the door as usual.

He took to naming the rat Tibsy, just because it felt weird to keep calling it “the rat”. 

Br’aad looks in the vent one day after his shift, and there’s nothing there. No rats, no fry storage, it’s just a small empty metal void. So he just doesn’t understand what Tibsy could possibly be doing, he’s never even seen him actually eat a fry. 

So one day Br’aad gets curious. He drops the fry as usual, and then waits for his rodent friend to scurry outside. He tries to be quiet while taking his leave, but Taxi notices, he always notices. 

Tibsy doesn’t go far. Br’aad follows as he scurries under some cars and behind the shabby grey and red building. He doesn’t think he’s ever gone back here besides having to take out trash, so he could really be in for anything. In this part of town, he wouldn’t be surprised if someone left a body back there, but he trusts Tibsy for some reason, and keeps following. 

What he sees though, kind of makes him wish he hadn’t. 

Tibsy scurries behind a building and over towards a mound of what looks like trash bags filled with something soft. There aren't any telltale plastic bottles sticking out, no glass shard holes, just a mound of black bags. Set up almost like a bed, a chair maybe? 

A throne. 

Atop it all sits a scrawny, malnourished, elderly looking man with a scraggly white beard that reaches down to his stomach. His clothes were clearly once white, but look weathered over years of grime and dirt from the city streets. His nails are long, almost claw like, and like the rest of him, covered in dirt. His eyes are wild, glazed over, and frantic. If Br’aad knew any better he would have run away just about instantly, this man smelled of death and madness, and he doesn’t want to get anywhere near that again. 

But anyone who knows Br’aad knows that he’s never known better. 

He watches Tibsy crawl towards the man and drop the fry in his lap. The man eats it and pets him absentmindedly, but the moment his eye’s meet br’aad he does something truly terrifying. 

He smiles.

It’s a smile of crooked teeth yellowed and rotten. It’s a smile of insanity, but not in the controlled way Br’aad had seen it before. This man knew he was insane, and didn’t care to hide it. And that alone, made him want to shit his pants. 

The man raised Tibsy towards his face. 

_“You’ve brought him to me.”_

He said it in such a sweet way. Like he was thanking the rat he currently held in his palm. He giggled as he spoke, which didn't help Br'aad feel any better. 

Without giving so much as a second glance he snaps the rat’s neck and throws him off to the side, where Br’aad finally saw a rotting pile of rat corpses, too high to count. The man then turns to face Br’aad, and gives him that same maniacal smile. He raises a bony, claw-like finger and beckons Br’aad forward. 

Br’aad steps cautiously, all curiosity replaced by fear. He figure’s he should comply now and run when his guard is down. It's not like that old guy can run faster than him. Then again, he didn't think mountain could benchpress three entire bags of frozen hamburger patties, and that underestimation cost him five bucks. 

He’s forces himself to look into the man’s eyes, they look vacant in the worst way possible. 

The man points his finger at Br’aad’s cheek, it hovers dangerously close to touching him, not something he wants to experience. 

_“You know him, don’t you?”_

He touches Br’aad’s cheek, and then he gets it, then he understands. 

And it all comes back. 

It’s a flood of memories, none of them good. It’s pain and darkness and running and fear. It’s subservience and silence and slowly boiling hatred. It’s purple, black, and needles still fresh on his skin. It's like ripping open Pandora's box, but the box is all the evil's in the world and more, wrapped up in a small, masculine package. 

Br’aad’s made a lot of mistakes in his life. He’s fought with Sylnan and taken much more than he should have. He’s kissed too quickly and run too slowly and done worse things than most people have to survive. 

But the worst mistake Br’aad Vengalor ever made was talking to a man with glasses, a pipe, and a sultry, maniacal smile. With sweet promises of power, salvation, and freedom for a low, low price. 

**“BR’AAD!”**

It takes that yell for Br’aad to snap out of his panicked thoughts, and once he hears it he backs up a solid three feet from the old man, who looks at him with the same, disgusting smile. His eyes are now knowing, and Br'aad doesn't know if he likes that better. 

Br’aad turns around and there’s Taxi and Sylnan. Both standing ten feet away, looking worried and terrified of the situation Br’aad has gotten himself into. And without thinking Br’aad just vaults himself at the Sylnan for a hug, which his older brother returns tightly, with a warmth he needed. 

He explains that he had been feeding the rat that snuck into the kitchen a week or two ago. And that he had followed here only to watch the man snap its neck. Taxi asks if that’s why he’s crying. 

It isn’t until Taxi says that that Br’aad even realises that he is. 

He blames his tears on the rat’s death, which receives a questioning but concerned look from Taxi and full understanding from Sylnan (Insight checks can be fickle). 

They go back to McDonalds, and Br’aad takes the day to calm himself down. He doesn’t work in the Kitchen anymore, he tends to stick to kid’s birthday parties and watching the ball pit so that nobody dies. 

He makes a small grave for Tibsy in the parking lot near a tree, it’s shitty and not nice to look at, but Br’aad knows who it’s for. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> also, by all means drop ideas/suggestions for me! i love those, and who knows what'll happen.


	3. a gentlemen's guide to getting banned from a church

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> exactly what it sounds like this time. no angst trip, just shenanigans, I promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cohesive storyline??? me??? nah  
> no super angsty genre change, otherwise i'd die. so take some dumb fluff and action stuff that i wrote after i finished the last chapter.
> 
> also, i'm offering this up every time. please suggest ideas, i can only think of so many things and my brain is small

Velrisa Greyroc has gone to church her entire life. She is a devoted child of Wee Jas and shall forever remain that way. Her faith is a huge part of her life and it matters a lot to her and her family, or what’s left of it rather.  
  
That being said, she’s tried to bring her friends to Ander’s chapel for services once in a while, but she learned very quickly that this was a bad idea, and has stopped inviting them. Save for Taxi, who (as far as she knows) hasn’t caused any issues yet and normally doesn’t turn her down. 

  
So these are the stories of three of the five fools, and how they got banned from the only religious building this side of town. 

Mountain has a dog. 

Mountain had always wanted one, so when he found a small strey in a box near his house, the only thing he could do was take the poor thing in. He named it Jak, it just stuck out to him. And that was that.

There used to be days where Mountain would get home and drink bottle after bottle and not really care about what happened or his surroundings. He didn’t have to. But now he can’t afford to. He’s got someone else to worry about, and that someone needs walks, food, and a surprising amount of playtime that he’ll never tell anyone he’s happy to give out in heaps. He hasn’t cared for someone this much in a long time, and even he’ll admit that it's nice. 

When Velrissa invited him to church, he didn’t really think it was that interesting. It’s just a bunch of religious shit that he doesn’t understand, but he figures he can go to be nice. So he grabs Jak with his leash and some treats, and makes his way towards the building. 

It’s once he gets there, that he is met with a problem. 

He won’t be allowed into the building while Jak is with him, which to him is absurd. Jak is trained, and he can keep him quiet, so what’s the problem? Aren’t churches supposed to be inclusive or whatever? Dogs should count, Jak should count. 

So Mountain, being Mountain, does what he does best besides drinking and fighting. Gets angry and yells at the closest person who played a role in said anger. He didn’t expect the church guy he was yelling at to fight back though, and Mountain has quite the short temper. So one short verbal (and almost physical) altercation later, our favorite fighter is told, very kindly, to never come back to the church of Wee Jas. Which is honestly fine with him. 

Br’aad has never, technically, been banned. 

Sylnan however, has. 

Him and Sylnan went to church once, and actually sat through a service without causing absolute havoc. Besides Sylnan pretending to be in pain when someone got holy water on him, it was fairly standard. Which worried Velrisa, but they never opted to come back, so she counted this as a success. 

But Sylnan has to get banned sometime right? That’s the whole premise of this prompt. 

The church of Wee Jas is a relatively small building, but it’s connected to a much, much larger one. It’s connected to the Crossing Hammers community theatre, place Br’aad and Sylnan, were very familiar with. The two of them knew the place well, between Br’aads performances and Sylnan’s “encounters” with the owner, they pretty much had a blueprint of the building filled out. So they did what they always do when they need money, a heist. 

It started off pretty well, they waited until the place was closed at night (Br’aad giving the excuse of needing to grab something from his dressing room and just so happening to leave the window open) and suck in through said window after scaling the fire escape. 

The two brothers snuck around the hallways, lock picked a couple doors, got through a laser filled room (“This seems a bit extra Sylnan.” “I know, what the fuck is he hiding.”) And finally, finally, managed to get to a small electronic safe door. 

This is about the time where they realise that neither of them know what the fuck the code is. So the two of them, with the combined power of their one braincell, just try to bust it open. Which, to give them credit, works. 

It also sets off a very, very loud alarm. 

They both shoved as much of whatever was in that vault into their duffel bags, and started running. They could already hear the police sirens and the loud shouts of the police captain, a woman who Sylnan was all too familiar with. 

They instinctively go for their failsafe plan, which has lasted them a good number of runs like this. Br’aad distracts, and Sylnan takes the cash and makes a run for it out of the smallest (and over time they’ve learned, preferably closest to the ground) window they can find. So Br’aad shoves his small duffel bag into Sylnan’s arms and starts drawing as much attention to himself as he can. He knocks over expensive looking Vases and slams a couple doors, he soon starts to hear loud footsteps following him. Which of course, is normal. 

He runs through a couple hallways, down some stairs, and through a couple doors to hide as decoys. He finally sees a door with some light coming through it. So him and his low ass wisdom score assume this is the way out. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s a door with light coming through it in a dark basement, so this has to be the way out. 

He throws open the double doors, relieved, preparing to run into the outdoors and use his normal hiding spot. 

Here’s the problem with that. 

The doors are thrown open and he sees a large group of people standing in church pews. Some holding candles, others holding small books, but they all were singing, which promptly stopped as he broke down the doors. He would have honestly assumed it was a cult if he hadn’t made brief eye contact with Velrissa who was standing in the front row. 

He makes a break for it anyway, towards the actual front door. There are still footsteps, and a lot more shouting. He is tackled, handcuffed, and brought upstairs and sat in front of a window while his rights are read to him, though he barely knows what they are. 

A cop asks him for his name, for document purposes, among other things. So Br’aad musters up all of his art school training and confidence from his costume and says:

“It’s Haw. Private Haw. I was in the military for a while.”

“There’s no way that’s the name. What, is your first name fuckin Ye?”

“It is sir, hebrew name, never spared me much bullying as a youngin.”

“Bullshit.”

“Well that ain’t very nice now is it.”

Br’aad feels the steel on his wrist slowly start to loosen by unseen hands, and he fights back a smile. Of course Sylnan would come back for him, dumbass. But there was also no way that he could get out of this alone, so he’d yell at him from both perspectives later. 

“Well I’m pleased to say this is the last time you’ll get to rob anywhere.”

“I’m pleased to say get FUCKED!” 

And on that signal the brothers, one by one, vault out of the window and jump into the street. They both run in a dead sprint until they reach the small shitty apartment they’ve been renting. 

It isn’t until about a month later when they realise that small posters featuring Sylnan and Br’aad wearing some impressive stage makeup plus a mustache and a cowboy hat, along with some fairly large numbers in exchange for information about them. So they figure they should steer clear of the place, and take down the posters, which isn’t easy but they skateboard past enough to rip them all down inconspicuously. 

Velrisa every now and then mentions church, but she doesn’t really invite any of them anymore, which is for the best as far as she knows. She’s seen the posters, and can put two and two together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dabs in garbage grammar*


	4. how to fluster a fated, or a better title when i come up with it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haaaapy pride month! This is late, just a little.
> 
> I’m not good at writing romance and i’m gonna stick as close to cannon as I can in terms of it (sorry boys, no gay vel, as much as i wish it was true). so enjoy this while it lasts, because soon we will go back to the non romance related shenanigans void.

Velrisa knew just about nothing about love. 

  
She’d read about it in her books, seen it in people’s eyes, watched it in movies, and things of the sort. But she’s never really felt it, at least not in the romantic way that people rave about. She loves Ander and her friends, nobody in that special way. 

Despite the fact that she knows just about nothing, she can read people quite well. Her quiet nature is more of her being observant. Though she always doesn’t need to be, her friends make some things painfully obvious. 

Sylnan is the easiest. Of course he is, he has Katherine. 

Vel works the front register most days, so when Katherine comes in she always gets to see Sylnan’s reaction, whether it be surprise or comfort. Don’t get her wrong, Katherine is beautiful, but the way Sylnan looks at her when she smiles and walks in as a surprise? It’s priceless. It’s like giving a kid a magic wand or whatever children were interested in. He always looked so captivated, like she was a goddess. 

He’d always nonchalantly make sure he got to take her order, and gave Br’aad a small signal from underneath the desk, which Vel eventually figured out meant add more mcnuggets than she paid for (there was also the opposite of this, give less mcnuggets, but they’d gotten caught for that, so it goes unused most days).

Vel could, and had, watched them give small smiles and make faces at each other for hours. It was sweet, but not in the sickening overdone way. Almost as if like they were best friends. 

Br’aad was next. 

Br’aad had flirted with his fair share of guys at the register, she’d seen it. He could be somewhat suave if he wanted to, in his own weird way. However, she didn’t expect the hot pirate guy to break him. 

This is a lie, she absolutely did. 

Cedric No-Last Name Given was an actor and a waiter over at the kids pirate restaurant on the east side of town. Most days he came in late at night, which meant Sylnan was probably busy in the back doing inventory and Br’aad was done with all his odd jobs during the day. 

Vel watched his posture straighten, his eyes slightly widen, and his jaw drop a small bit from atop the plastic bucket he was sitting on every single time without fail. And every time she fights to hold back the small bits of laughter starting to bubble in her chest. Sylnan and Mountain weren’t around, so he was free to embarrass himself to minimal ridicule. Plus she swears she saw him pull his phone out of his pocket and type something into wiki how. 

Every time Cedric comes in now, he is met with a barrage of pirate puns and things of the like. Vel has honestly grown used to it, and is more interested in gauging Cedric’s reaction to the “flirting”. He seems to be slightly into it, he laughs at least, and hasn’t switched to Vel’s register since he started showing up. But he’s a tough one to read beneath the eyepatch and scar makeup, plus Br’aads register is much closer to the door. 

Taxi was a bit odd. 

She’d met Oriana at the register, and she was nice. She had this slightly pink hair that was natural according to her, similar to her own. So with that opener, the two actually became friends, to the extent of peaceful small talk over a cash register. 

When Oriana used the drive through, she’d have to go through Taxi. Which often led to a lot of stuttering and soft words. Most days he could get through the order and handoff, but the two’s relationship wasn’t always clear. Some days there we exchanged smiles and bits of laughter, but on others there were uncomfortable silences and traces of malice. Vel doesn’t exactly pride herself on anything, but reading people is something she thinks she may have a talent for. Yet those two she doesn’t really understand, but she also doesn’t have the full story. He’ll probably tell them someday, or maybe they’ll meet the illusive old friends that he mentions every now and then . 

There’s also this one guy. 

He pulls up to the drive through almost exclusively, and every time despite the situation Taxi will toss his headset to the nearest person and hide in the janitor's closet until he’s gone. 

One day Vel had the pleasure of meeting him, as she was the closest to Taxi when he yeeted his fucking headset at the nearest person. 

Since she was nice, and there was no one else in line, she figured she’d talk to him and see how he knew Taxi. The guy said that he goes to the arts college that she’d heard Taxi mention once or twice. So when she asked about him, he seemed to recognize the name, but once she gave descriptors, a surprised and then smug look of realization crossed his face. 

She swiftly decided not to ask any questions, to either of them. 

Mountain was the hardest to read. 

She’s noticed the way he thumbs his locket when he thinks nobody is looking, and how his eyes light up when they see Jak for the first time after work. He feels love and sadness, even though he’d rather nobody know that he does. 

She’s never asked about his wife or how she passed, in fact, none of them have. But Mountain doesn’t seem too willing to talk about it either. So they’ve all chalked it up to another Mountain Mystery. 

He does however, have this weird thing with Police Capitan Theima. 

She doesn’t come in often, but when she does it’s for a coffee and maybe a bagel if she’s in (what Vel assumes) is a good mood. Which isn’t very frequent, considering that it’s five in the morning. 

Since Sylnan can’t be seen by her for reasons she doesn’t want to consider, Taxi is semi-terrified of most intimidating authority figures (and smells strangely like an herb she can’t recognise), Br’aad is not on shift, and Vel herself is probably still cleaning, Mountain is normally the one to ring up her order. If she thinks back on all of their encounters, she doesn’t remember a time where they haven’t fought about something. 

It’s always been something petty to start, the wrong something or other, but the argument always escalates. The only reason it doesn’t distub other customers is because its super fucking early, but otherwise, it would. 

As far as she remembers, it's only gotten physical one time, and for once Mountain didn’t initiate it (despite the fact that his hands are, to quote Br’aad, rated “E for Everyone”). Captain Theima grabbed Mountain by the collar and lifted him about an inch off the ground, which normally wouldn’t be a feat due to his shorter stature, but she’s around the same height if not shorter. She then muttered something Vel couldn’t quite hear from her distance away, plopped him down, grabbed her coffee and left. 

Mountain, of course, called her a bitch right after she left and Vel figured that was the end of it like it was most Mountain encounters. But he seemed to have a slight sense of respect for her that she had yet to see him show for any of the other patrons. She is also the only person to see it, so as usual, she doesn’t make much mention of it. 

She watches all of this happen time and time, again and again, their faces and all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my actual doc notes before writing this chapter:  
> Mountain: Captain Theima(arc 2:5 for reference, cool short scary lady)  
> Br’aad: Cedric (pirate man, gay brain go brrrrr)  
> Taxi: Cab and or Oriana (fun pan man dilemma go boom)  
> Vel:  
> Sylnan: Kathrine (man love girlfriend, he supportive he swear)


	5. kickass kiwi and other fruit puns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not directly: but SPOLIERS FOR ARC 2 EPISODE 28!   
> mostly have that there because the ep JUST came out at the time i'm writing this. 
> 
> fuCK arc2, ep28 with everything it has in this universe my boys are HAPPY DO YOU HEAR ME 
> 
> this is me being sad and writing a much happier cake day for sylnan. fuck sadness and arm demons, i want fruit cake.

Taxi hadn’t been around for as long as Mountain had, he wasn’t exactly Sylnan’s brother like Br’aad was, and he wasn’t half as close to Sylnan as Ugarth. 

But he wasn’t stupid. 

It was small things he would notice, how his eyes wouldn’t crinkle in their corners when he laughed. How he would stop giving Br’aad the signal for more Mcnuggets for nice customers. How he stopped waltzing with his mop to the classical music Vel would play when it was her turn to clean the machines after closing.

People might say that he’s weird for picking up these things, and most of the time him normally being weird justifies whatever weird thing he may be doing, but he’s really just observant. 

He picks up on those small pauses before forced laughter when Br’aad tells a joke, he’ll notice the considerable decrease in McFlurry spoon fencing matches between him and Mountain. He feels terrible when he sees Hilltree look up at Sylnan, with this childlike wonder and admiration in his eyes. 

The same Sylnan, who doesn’t even bother to fake a smile back. 

He even noticed how when Katherine texted him, and he looked quickly and put his phone back in his pocket. He never does that. 

It was at that point that Taxi brought Sylnan’s slump of an emotional state up to Br’aad, who admitted that he'd been noticing some changes as well. Mostly in the way that he talked to other people and distanced himself from Br’aad at their home. Br’aad was clearly worried, and it was up to the two of them to do something to help Sylnan, so they decided on a plan that had about a 5% chance of working. But these two are not ones to let fate or reason sway them. 

In the span of one day, numerous visits to the nearby art supply store, the employ of Mountain, Vel, and even Hilltree, they all together manage to fix up the store after work for a small “party” for Sylnan. 

There are streamers of every color (at Br’aad’s request) plus balloons and paper plates with small fruits drawn on the outer rims. They’ve somehow managed to get small balloon weights and strewn them throughout the restaurant. This is honestly much more effort than they would put into the birthday parties they’re forced to throw for normal children, but those are forced anyway. 

The crown jewel of the entire party was the cake. It had taken hours of beating batters and frosting cakes in secret so as not to alert the cake’s planned recipient. Nevertheless they somehow managed to pull together this, honestly, not bad looking cake. It was two tired, each frosted with white vanilla buttercream and then draped in beautiful green swirls and curls designed by the only group member with any semblance of artistic talent, Br’aad. And at the very very top there were small slices of kiwi shaped into a rose courtesy of Taxi. 

It all looked messy, rushed, and thrown together in ways that made it perfect. Because all of them really tried, and it came out imperfect, so that’s how they know that it’s good enough. 

Taxi calls Ugarth and Katherine, who both almost instantly agree to sneak off during their night shift and visit them on this special occasion. They even bring their own special additions to the gathering. Katherine brings candles that don’t say happy birthday, and that also haven’t been burnt down to almost their bottoms. Ugarth however, brings a bottle of surprisingly quality whisky. Which grants him an interesting look from Vel, and a high five from Mountain. 

Br’aad and Hilltree had been out distracting Sylnan for the past couple hours since their shift had ended. With what Taxi had no idea, but whatever it was had kept them gone long enough for everything to be prepared and set up. So when Br’aad walked in covering Sylnan by the eyes directly after they had just placed the cake on its center stand of McNugget cartons, they all exhaled a communal sigh of relief. 

Sylnan walked in, eyes shielded by Br’aads hands, with a few stray white feathers covering his body, some in his hair and others attached to his clothing. Whatever they had done was crazy, and knowing Br’aad almost certainly illegal, but Taxi would have to ask about it later.

Br’aad removed his hands, and Sylnan’s eyes opened to a room filled with light, color, and his closest friends. 

“Surprise!” 

There was silence for a minute. 

Sylnan is standing there, no emotion in his eyes, no movement in his posture, he almost looked as if nothing was happening in front of him. 

But Taxi isn’t stupid. 

He looks over and sees that small tear starting to well up in one of Sylnan’s eyes. 

Sylnan, after standing there, just gives Br’aad this hug. This huge, sweeping, love filled hug that you could tell he had missed being able to give. Watching it was sweet, and it made Taxi feel really happy for the two of them, so when Mountain starts to scoff he gives him a quick glare that means “shut the fuck up”. 

Sylnan thanks all of them for everything. He gives Katherine a kiss and Ugarth a bro hug. He even picks up Hilltree and puts him on his shoulders. He seems happy somehow, which is the Sylnan they all missed hearing from. 

They eat the cake, which Br’aad has nicknamed “Kickass Kiwi Cake”, and have a rather pleasant evening. They all drink their fill too, more Mountain and Ugarth than anyone else, but those two can handle their liquor so it’s fine. 

At one point Taxi swears he hears Br’aad ask Sylnan what was wrong, and he watches as Sylnan’s eyes go to Katherine, who gives him a knowing smile and a calm head nod. 

“We’ll talk about it at home Br’aad, I promise.” 

Sylnan has told Taxi time and time again about how him vaulting out a window is Sylnan’s second favorite memory. But whenever Taxi asks for his first, he never really says. 

Every now and then, he’ll catch a glimpse of Sylnan’s phone when it’s unlocked, but he’s never had the chance to look at it for more than a second until one day. 

The home screen is a picture of all of them from the party, Ugarth is holding the camera, Br’aad is laughing and Vel is smiling in her smirky sort of way. Katherine is holding up bunny ears behind Mountain, who for once has a hint of a smile on his face from holding back laughter at the small hilltree covered in some sort of drink, who seems to be yelling at Mountain mid shot. Taxi himself is standing at the back, anxieties forgotten mid laugh amongst his friends. And Sylnan is in the center, holding up a small angry hiltree and smiling at the camera as if there was no place he’d rather be. 

It was then Taxi realised, that memory, that mess of a day with a 5% chance of success. 

That was his favorite. 


End file.
